Northwest Jobfest and Community Resource Fair Announced

The Northwest Jobfest and Community Resource Fair will take place on Tremont Street (between N. Fair Oaks and Raymond) on Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.. It has been organized by the N. Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative which is sponsored by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA).

“This community and the people who live here are the heart of Pasadena,” said City Councilman Tyron Hampton. “It’s not just ‘Northwest Pasadena.’ This is a hard working community.” Hampton sees the N. Fair Oaks Jobfest and Empowerment Initiative as an opportunity to bring about positive change.

“North Fair Oaks is a place where people speed past on their way to somewhere else, not noticing how God is at work,” said Dr. Jill Shook, long-term community resident who helped to start the N. Fair Oaks Initiative and is helping coordinate the Northwest Jobfest. “Our team has worked diligently to plan this fair; and in the process we are learning about the many gifts and resources that defy the negative perception of this stretch of N. Fair Oaks.”

“This is an opportunity to put into action something that will make a significant impact,” said Pastor John Bledsoe, President of IMA. The IMA has organized job fairs for the past five years, but this one is on a much larger scale and involves the whole community on N Fair Oaks from Howard to Woodbury.

A mobile employment unit will provide support for writing resumes and immediate application to jobs via internet. There will be free dress shirts for first 10 job seekers provided by Tyron Hampton (District One City Councilmember) as well as health and housing services, tattoo removal, and opportunities for residents to share their talents and dreams for the community. There will also be a video game truck, bounce house, free hot dogs, free ice cream for kids, door prizes (TV and bike), community-building booths (face-painting, auditions to be on the stage, free haircuts, entertainment, folkloric dance and more). Local talent will offer music, dance and poetry.

Pastors and community leaders will take part, including Mayor Tornek, City Manager Michael Beck and state assemblyman Chris Holden. City Councilmember Tyron Hampton said, “My office has made a commitment to this event because of the people of this great community. Their engagement and commitment to this initiative has been an inspiration to my team.”

According to Dr. Shook, the goal of the N. Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative is to help promote businesses, churches and non-profits between Howard and Woodbury on N. Fair Oaks as well as help improve this area. A hundred and fifty surveys were conducted from April to July asking the businesses, residents and churches about their concerns and dreams, and if they wanted to be part of planning this year’s fair. Survey results included slower traffic, cleaner streets and sidewalks, a safer and more walkable community, more parking, landscaping, and affordable housing, with a goal “to beautify and not gentrify.”

“The N. Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative is bringing people out of their closed doors,” said Pat Gause of the Bethlehem Church of Christ. “It has empowered even the committee to dream bigger, dare to think outside the box. We’ve gotten to know our neighbors on the corridor between Woodbury and Howard. They are basically hardworking people, trying to realize the American dream.”

Pastor Joseph Martin, who has lived in Northwest Pasadena for 37 years doing “rescue work” with the “bruised and broken,” became involved with the N. Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative because he feels it will “provide opportunities for those who don’t leave the neighborhood,” especially young people. “I’m interested in the long haul and in making long-term changes,” explained Pastor Martin. He and others on the Planning Team see the Jobfest as an important first step towards revitalizing this community.

Sponsors include the City of Pasadena, the Northwest Commission, Alta Pasa Manor, Arnold Family Funeral Services, ARCO, Bethlehem Church of Christ, Blues Wireless Altadena, State Representative Chris Holden, CHAPcare, Cutting Up, El Caporal, Family Promise of San Gabriel Valley, Friends in Deed Pasadena, Grace Temple, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pasadena Mennonite Church, Metropolitan Baptist Church, Neighborhood Church, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Church, Options for Learning, Successful Opportunities, Rio Meat Market, Rio Fashion, The Big Yard Sale, and the Urban Village.